10,000 km across a diverse nation like ours; that pretty much sums up the sheer test that #roadTripUnited2022 was for all our machines. To be able to complete such a trip is enough to secure top marks but more than that, such a ride also provides one with the chance to really know the machines inside and out. So here, we are going to distil our experience with each of those throughout the 10,000 km of #roadTripUnited2022. Helmets on for this is going to be a heck of a ride!

There are not a lot of motorcycles out there that carry a legacy like the one seen here. From being the fastest motorcycle in the world to being named cleverly to depict just that, and from some movie appearances to a lead role in Dhoom; the Suzuki Hayabusa is truly a motorcycle like no other.

Now in its third generation, a lot of people have written it off based on some numbers. It makes less power than before?! Heresy! But we have said it before and we’ll say it again; numbers on paper and rubber on road are vastly different. Even more so, when you go around India, riding for over 10,000 km, and enjoying every little bit of what makes the Suzuki Hayabusa… Falcon.

First of all, the design. The 3rd-Gen Busa still carries its signature bulbous silhouette. Form follows function and while not a lot of people liked it initially, it gave the Busa one of the best coefficients of drag. And you need to beat the air to go faster. For the 3rd-Gen though, the design has been sharpened a bit. These changes make it seem much more in line with the times… and lets it keep one of the best coefficients of drag as well.

The engine, the iconic 1,340cc inline-4 has been reworked extensively to make the silken inline-4 even smoother and even more usable. The fueling has been improved greatly, the feel of the throttle is better, the tractability is better, and so on; it is not that it has changed, it is just that it has evolved. Really evolved.

The electronics also work in great tandem with the motorcycle and feel intrusive only when you want them to. Other than that, everything happens seamlessly in the background while you ride the wave of power and torque that the Busa brings with it.

A lot has changed in terms of dynamics as well. The Busa is no corner-carving knee-scraper but it has always been a decent handler. But the older Busas felt heavier and the new one, while it has lost some weight, does not at all. It is not just that the weight has been reduced, it is about how it has been distributed. The 3rd-Gen Busa… just feels right? You know that feeling, we know you do.

Overall, there is not a lot that can come close to the Busa and with the 3rd-Gen, Suzuki has moved the yardstick even further.

Throughout the 10,000 km, the Busa was a docile beast. A beast, yes, but docile and that is despite sporting the highest displacement among our machines of the two-wheeled variety. On the highways, it was in a class of its own but even in cities and traffic, it was a far cry from being a handful. And how many people line up to catch a glimpse of it; well, it is a foregone conclusion but still, we’d say a fair few!

And here are some more beautiful images of the Suzuki Hayabusa from around India: